


On Two Wings and a Prayer

by Kerkerian



Category: Riptide (TV), Temeraire - Naomi Novik
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Banter, Canon-Typical Violence, Developing Relationship, Dragons, Friendship, Gen, Humour, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Not an actual fusion though, Romance, Set in Modern Times, Temeraire Universe/Naomi Novik
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-14
Updated: 2019-10-04
Packaged: 2020-01-13 06:04:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18462986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kerkerian/pseuds/Kerkerian
Summary: Vietnam veterans and best friends Nick Ryder and Cody Allen try to make a living as private eyes. Their fledgling detective agency however is barely sustaining them and Nick's dragon Mimi; things only begin to change when they take their old acquaintance, computer genius Murray Bozinsky, on board...





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own "Riptide" or "Temeraire".
> 
> I've written one other story as a fusion of Hawaii Five-0 and the Temeraire verse, which was a lot of fun (and sweat, and tears. Well, mainly sweat.). Pretty much every time I watched "Riptide" recently, I saw Nick on a dragon, so this happened... updates may take a while though since I'll not have much time writing in the next few months.  
> Additional tags will be added if necessary.
> 
> The amazing 'Temeraire' series by Naomi Novik belongs to my all time favourite books and I can highly recommend it. You don't need to have read it to follow this story, though. Just a quick quote from Wikipedia:" The novels are works of both fantasy and alternate history: they are "a reimagining of the epic events of the Napoleonic Wars with an air force—an air force of dragons, manned by crews of aviators"."

 

 

“No!” The great dragon turned its head away.

“Oh, come on.” Its captain stood with his hands on his hips: “We need the money, you can't just refuse to do it!”

“I can and I will,” the dragon said without looking at him. “And I won't. I'm sick and tired of people complaining-”

“That happened one time.”

“It happens every time! It happened _one_ time that a kid puked on me!”

“You barely noticed it.”

“I _smelled_ it!”

“Mims, please... It's just a round trip out to the channel islands.”

 

Cody Allen folded his arms in front of his chest, unsucessfully trying to hide a grin as he watched his best friend Nick Ryder argue with his dragon. Mimi was a formidable Middleweight, an Ironwing, and she was a little cranky at times.

“Moody,” Nick used to say.

“Volatile,” was what Cody liked to call it.

Nick now shook his head: “Okay. Be that way. Good luck catching your dinner!”

At that, Mimi froze: “Fine!” she then snapped. “But if anyone pukes on me, I'll throw them into the sea!”

Nick turned around to Cody with an exasperated expression: “Hear that? We better take a life belt.”

Cody walked up to him and put his arm around him: “Come fly the friendly skies,” he said, smiling and patting Nick's shoulder with his other hand.

 

Half an hour later, Nick and Cody had put on Mimi's harness and attached five additional carabiners. Once they were done, she spread her wings, rose to her haunches and shook herself: “All lies well,” she then grumbled.

Nick patted her: “Thank you, Sweetheart.”

 

Their clients arrived shortly afterwards. Nick and Cody helped them aboard and made sure they were strapped in securely, then Nick took his position at Mimi's neck and Cody between her shoulders.

Mimi, who was pretending not to be interested at all, gave a deep, long-suffering sigh when Nick told her to lift off, but then she spread her wings and leapt into the air, and the ground fell away.

 

“See?” Nick held up the money they'd gotten for the tour. “This is going to pay the slip fee and buy you a nice cow.”

Mimi peered at the notes: “I don't understand why no one pays in gold anymore.”

Cody grinned: “Because it's too heavy to carry it around.”

Mimi just sighed.

“Come on,” Nick said, patting her flank. “We'll nip over to the feeding ground right away.”

 

While Nick and his dragon flew off once more, Cody went over to the _Riptide_. The boat was his pride and joy, and since the space next to it was perfect for a dragon of Mimi's size and wasn't being used, they had come to an understanding with the harbormaster, who had served in Vietnam himself and knew the effect that dragons had on most civilians: they were interesting but also slightly daunting. The safety of the thriving marina in mind, he had therefore willingly agreed to rent the space out to Nick, hoping to keep 'the low-lifes', as he called it, away. Nick had consequently put up a large awning for Mimi so she'd find shade on the hotter days and shelter in case it rained. Having the ocean so close by was another treat; when the weather was good and they had time, Mimi liked to go fishing, which also was a relief financially.

 

That night, Cody and Nick did some accountancy and once more realized that money was rather tight, despite the tourist jobs.

“Maybe we're too cheap,” Nick said. “Maybe 200 bucks per day just doesn't cut it.”

Cody shook his head: “The job's just not profitable enough,” he said.

“We solved all the cases we've had so far, didn't we?”

“Yes, and two of the clients haven't yet paid the fee. One of them, if I may remind you, because Mimi demolished their garden shed upon landing.”

Nick rolled his eyes and muttered something about people being idiots and Mimi being shot at while touching down, after all.

“Let's face it,” Cody said reasonably. “We need to spend a little less and work more economically efficient.”

“I don't know about you,” Nick replied, “but this isn't exactly living in luxury. And we've already cut back on some expenses.”

“I know. I can't even remember the last time we had a steak.” Cody fiddled with his pen. “What about bringing in a third party?”

“A third party?”

“Yeah. Someone to help us.”

Nick narrowed his eyes: “Who do you have in mind?”

Cody shrugged: “Well... I was thinking maybe Murray Bozinsky might be interested.”

Nick stared at him: “Murray Bozinsky? The guy who broke his thumb hitting an officer?”

“He's really good with computers, and he's made a ton of money with the games he invented. I thought we'd ask him to give us some advice on how to maximise our resources, you know? Maybe use a computer to set up a client register-”

“ _Maximise our resources_?” Nick echoed. “Have you been reading business magazines again?”

Cody put up his chin: “So what if I have?”

“And where are we going to get a computer?” Nick asked. “From the wish fairy?”

“Okay, forget it.” Cody crossed his arms in front of his chest belligerently.

Nick looked around the room: “I'm not saying that you might not have a point there, it's just... we don't even have any money to pay him. It'd be a bit inappropriate to ask him for help and expect him to do it for free, don't you think?”

“True,” Cody said, holding up a finger,“but!” He turned sideways and began to rummage around in a pile of papers: “Here it is. Look!”

He held up a magazine which had Murray Bozinsky's face on the cover. The caption read “Game Over. How IT wiz Murray Bozinsky didn't compute the legal side of his endeavours.”

Frowning, Nick looked from the picture to Cody: “Doesn't sound too good.”

“No. Apparently, he's in cahoots with the company he's working for because they are fighting over rights and legal claims. I didn't read it that thoroughly. But I thought... maybe he could use some help.”

“From us? We're no lawyers.”

“No, but we could talk to him and find out if there's something shady going on... Do you think _Murray Bozinsky_ would knowingly do something illegal?”

Nick sighed: “No. Well, it can't hurt to try. Do you have his number?”

 

Murray Bozinsky arrived at pier 56 with two cabs that night, both of which were jam-packed with his stuff- mainly computer equipment, but there was a funny orange robot as well.

“I can't believe you called when you did, Cody,” Murray all but babbled, indignant with disgust, “it was absolutely last minute, let me tell you that! They intended to fire me, _me_! And they were going to confiscate all my stuff, all the proto-types, even though it's all mine, paid for with my own money! So there I was, reeling from the implications and with no idea what to do, when the phone rang and it was you!”

“Err...,” Cody said.

“So I paid the janitor to help me move everything to the basement, short-circuited the buildings' security system and was out of there!”

Against his will fascinated, Nick shook his head: “Won't the janitor get into trouble?”

At that, Murray giggled: “No, because nobody even saw him! And he's got an alibi.” He tapped the tip of his nose with his finger: “Watertight. I made sure of it.”

Cody and Nick exchanged a look: “Well, that's great,” Cody then said weakly, looking at Murray's possessions. “So... this all of your stuff?”

“Yes. Where can I put it?”

 

“Why did you invite him to live with us?” Nick asked Cody under his breath once they had carried every last bit into the as of yet empty second stateroom on the _Riptide_. They had finished renovating it a while ago in order to have separate rooms, but hadn't put anything in it yet.

“I really didn't,” Cody replied, slightly dazed, looking around the room, which now more resembled a warehouse than a stateroom on a small cabin cruiser.

 

It turned out that Murray wasn't looking for further payback now that he had gotten out: “If they try to press charges, I'll sue them,” he said, surprisingly chipper considering his initial rage. “I only took what was mine, and since they probably won't pay me any royalties for what they _stole_ from me anyway, I don't see why they should.”

Cody looked slightly uncertain: “So you're sure we won't wake up tomorrow because the police are storming our boat?”

Murray shrugged: “Well, according to the laws of probability, one can never be 100 percent sure, of course, but in this case I'd say that the chances are slim.”

“You've obviously never heard of Lieutenant Quinlan before,” Nick muttered, rubbing his neck.

“Who's he?”

“Someone who hates us and will do anything to bring us down.”

“Oh. Well, haha- let him try! I'll show him that Murray Bozinsky isn't a pushover!”

Cody and Nick exchanged a look: “As long as he isn't wanted by the police either...” Cody murmured.

After a moment of silence, Nick heaved a sigh: “Anyway- Mimi is probably already waiting for me, I promised to take her fishing.”

Murray looked up: “Mimi? Is she your girlfriend?”

Cody grinned: “If only.”

Ignoring him, Nick involuntarily smiled as he thought of her: “She's my dragon.”

“You've got your own dragon?” Murray all but spluttered. “But that is wonderful, it's absolutely boss! How did you do that? I thought civilians weren't allowed to have any!”

“That's true,” Nick said. “And it's a slightly long story which I'm sure Cody will gladly tell you, but I gotta run.” He waved and left.

Expectantly, Murray turned to Cody, who shrugged: “Her original captain was killed in 'Nam, and she was giving the aerial command a hard time about his successor, not accepting anyone. Since they couldn't afford to lose her for combat, they kept trying to find someone who'd take her on, and in the end, Nick was the only one she tolerated.

After the war, she was supposed to stay in service while Nick and I joined the MP. He always pretended he didn't give a damn, but I knew he missed her, though I really don't know why- she's a grumpy old curmudgeon, if you ask me.”

Murray grinned, but then he adjusted his glasses and asked: “Why didn't Nick stay in service with her then?”

“His captaincy was only considered temporary since technically, there were others with seniority who'd have had priority to take on a combat class dragon. If it hadn't been for the extraordinary circumstances back then, Nick wouldn't even have been considered for a command yet.”

“Ah.” Murray nodded. “Makes sense.”

“Anyway,” Cody continued, “one day Nick got a call from our old commander, “Pitbull” Johnson, that Mimi was to be put down because of her continued insubordination. You know, she's been injured once, long before we met her, and that old wound sometimes bothers her. The only person who can get her into the air on those days is Nick, which I guess played a big part. Knowing Mimi, she very likely greatly exaggerated her condition once Nick was gone. So, long story short: one thing led to another, and in the end, Nick got her out, signing up for reserves as part of the deal. I think it was Johnson who drew some strings, probably told them that it might come in handy one day to have someone with a retired combat class dragon in the reserves.”

"I'm surprised, frankly, that they didn't try to force him to sign on full time again."

"I agree. Though the war was over by then, and the U.S. had just arranged a treaty with Britain for a number of first rate eggs. Maybe they felt they could spare one of the veteran dragons, especially one that wasn't 'fully functional' anymore."

“Wow,” Murray shook his head. “That _is_ quite a story! Why do you think it was that Mimi chose Nick?”

Cody shrugged: “He can be a hothead at times, but with her, he's always gentle and patient. It's possible that she sensed that, I dunno. Dragons are complicated beasts.”

“Oh, yes, absolutely. What kind of breed is she?”

“An Ironwing. Middleweight. There are prettier and more affable breeds, if you ask me, but she's got very strong wings and her bite is venomous.”

Murray nodded, obviously impressed: “Does the name derive from her colouring?”

“Yeah. Her hide's a dark grey with rust-coloured marks all along the edge of her wings.”

“I don't think I've seen one of those before.”

“Well,” Cody said, smirking, “seems that you're about to.”

 

 

To Be Continued

 

 

 


	2. Changes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers for Season 2 episode 2 "The Orange Grove".

 

 

Murray met Mimi on the following morning.

The dragon turned its head from one side to the other and regarded Murray attentively first with the right eye, then with the left: “Is he going to fly with us?” she asked after a long moment.

“ _He_ 's got a name,” Nick replied. “Manners, Sweetheart.”

Mimi made an impatient sound, then she lowered her head until her muzzle was level with Murray. To his credit, he didn't even flinch, though Cody could see fine beads of sweat on his forehead. Well, he was directly facing 17 tons of grumpiness with eyes as big as dinner plates.

“N-nice to meet you,” Murray now said.

“Hmm,” Mimi grumbled. “We'll see about that.”

Nick nudged her with his elbow, at which she heaved a sigh: “Did you ever fly on a dragon before, Murray?”

“Why, yes, I have.” Murray sounded bewildered.

“And do you happen to suffer from motion sickness?”

“Mimi-” Nick and Cody began in unison.

“It's okay, guys,” Murray interrupted them. “I can assure you that I never had any problems in that regard.”

“Good,” Mimi muttered. “I don't like people puking on me.”

“Well, I can imagine that it's very unpleasant,” Murray said.

Mimi nodded, then lifted her head: “Is it time to go to the feeding grounds yet?” she then asked, obviously done with her inspection of the newcomer.

Nick just shook his head, while Cody shrugged at Murray: “This is as good as it's gonna get.”

Murray took a handkerchief out of his pocket and dabbed at his face: “Oh, I thought it went quite alright!”

 

“You really could have made a bit more of an effort,” Nick chided Mimi when they made their way over to the feeding grounds a little later.

Mimi huffed: “I didn't object to him flying with us, did I?”

“No, but you could have been a bit more polite instead of asking him if he was going to puke on you.”

“I didn't ask him that.”

“You sorta did.”

“If that's what you chose to hear...” Mimi replied haughtily. “I know what I said. And I didn't show him my teeth either.”

“Oh, well, if you look at it from that angle... Hooray!,” Nick said.

Mimi skilfully ignored his last remark.

 

Murray quickly settled into life on board the _Riptide_. He set up his computer equipment and went to buy a cot to sleep on. Cody and Nick had discussed bringing the topic of their living arrangement up again but had decided against it for the time being. Apart from the fact that they liked Murray, they didn't really need the additional room which he now occupied, even though they originally thought so.

Neither Cody nor Nick actually wanted to leave their shared bedroom, though they had yet to talk about the reasons for that. It had begun out of necessity after Cody had bought the boat and the other stateroom was uninhabitable for the time being, but since they had bunked together as well when they were still in the army, it wasn't a problem, on the contrary: they were used to it. In fact, neither of them could imagine sleeping alone anymore, and neither of them wanted to. Cody wanted Nick close by and vice versa, again for reasons they had yet to explore.

 

Once everything was up and running, Murray set up a client register for them and explained to them how to cross-reference the files and keep them up to date, particularly concerning the payment; it was all rather cleverly laid out. He also sold two of his machines because he didn't need them anymore, which brought in a nice amount of cash.

“We can't accept that,” Cody said when Murray wanted to give him the money. “It's too much, Boz.”

“Nonsense,” Murray said. “It covers rent, utilities and groceries for the next few months. I don't need anything else right now.”

Cody exchanged a look with Nick, who shrugged: “You heard him.”

“Okay,” he therefore said. “Thank you. I'm putting it into the cigar box.”

“Cigar box?” Murray looked puzzled.

“We've got one for money and one for receipts,” Nick explained.

Murray shook his head: “But that's not very safe.”

“Worked so far.”

“Yeah.”

Still shaking his head, Murray looked from Nick to Cody: “Okay, the next step will be setting up a business account at a bank of your choice.”

“We don't need-”

“Yes, you do,” Murray regarded them sternly. “It'll give you a much better idea of your cash flow and hopefully prevent unnecessary spending.”

Cody and Nick exchanged another look, then Cody sighed: “Okay, well... if you think it's wise.”

“I do. And I'll also organize the receipts and sort out your annual tax declaration, if you like.”

“Sure,” Cody secretly was relieved because he wasn't very good at these accounting things, and neither was Nick. “Thank you.”

“No problem at all.” Murray leaned back, folded his arms and beamed at them.

 

In the following weeks, they gradually learned what an asset Murray and his 'technical thingamajigs', as Nick called them, really were. He helped them to procure information by hacking into secured networks or tapping phone lines, used tracking devices and bugs to follow vehicles or locate targets and developed helpful little tools like lie detectors disguised as costume jewellery. The Roboz was also very useful once it was working properly; when Murray first arrived, he was still in the final stages of perfecting it.

Mimi, once she had realized that Murray was indirectly responsible for a more frequent supply of cows, began to warm to him as well; because his skill for climbing up her harness was rather poorly, she even offered to lift him onto her back whenever they flew somewhere.

“What does he have that I don't?” Cody asked, baffled.

“He's a regular chick magnet,” Nick said, shaking his head, when the crew of their neighbouring boat ( _The Barefoot Contessa_ ) flocked around the Roboz admiringly, and Murray -possibly inadvertently- flirted with all of them.

“At least they learned their lesson with Mimi,” Cody said with a remarkably innocent face, earning himself a dark look from his partner: when the girls who worked on the _Contessa_ had done the same with the dragon, much to Nick's delight, Mimi had quickly made it clear that she was neither cuddlesome nor 'cute' and had given the girls a run for their money (much to Nick's chagrin).

For all of Nick and Cody's apparently serious competition concerning the _Contessa_ girls, Murray soon noticed that it was all rather tongue-in-cheek. He had eyes, and he saw that his friends always checked with each other whenever they'd been flirting, and that hardly anything ever came of it. Sometimes they went for a round of drinks or some burgers at Straightaways with a few of the girls, more often than not however Mama Jo, who was the captain and self-appointed chaperone of the group, put her foot down anyway in order to prevent things from happening. And the guys seemed fine with it, despite their previous efforts.

Murray appreciated that Mama Jo seemed more lenient towards himself; she probably thought he didn't stand a chance, compared to the other two, but the girls had been very friendly towards him. And from the looks of it, Nick and Cody probably weren't really that keen... it was all rather interesting, really. Not that Murray minded... if those two had something going on, it wasn't his business, after all. On most days, he was almost sure, judging from the way they usually sought each other's physical closeness even without realizing it, apparently; they always sat so close together that their arms and often their legs were touching, but they didn't seem to notice it themselves. It was sweet, in Murray's opinion, and just went to show how much they cared for one another. So if there was more to it... it was fine by him. _Live and let live_ was his motto, since he had been on the receiving end of those who didn't adhere to something like that for most of his life because he was different, and had learned the hard way how little tolerance people often showed when that was the case.

 

A few months after Murray had joined the team, Cody opened the door to go for a run and found a large parcel on the deck. It was unmarked and rather heavy when he picked it up and carried it inside.

“What's that?” Nick was coming up the stairs from the stateroom all disheveled and yawning.

“I dunno.” Cody put the parcel down on the table. “It was sitting outside.”

“What are you waiting for, open it,” Nick said.

Cody hesitated: “Could be dangerous.”

“It's not ticking, is it?”

At that, Cody rolled his eyes: “Still.”

“Okay.” Nick leaned into the small stairway to the galley and the aft cabin: “Murray, you awake?”

Moments later, Murray's head appeared: “Yes. What is it?”

“Can you come up here for a moment?”

Murray was still in his pyjamas: “Do we have a case?”

“We've got this mystery package. Does it look dangerous to you?”

“Well,” Murray pushed his glasses up his nose and regarded the parcel: “It's a bit strange that there's no address on it, or at least the name of the sender. And it couldn't have come by mail either. So... I don't know. It might be suspicious.”

Cody gave Nick a triumphant look and folded his arms in front of his chest.

“Can you find out what's in it without opening it?” Nick asked, ignoring Cody.

“Well, I can try.”

 

Twenty minutes later, once Murray had carefully opened it, it turned that there wasn't a bomb inside but two kilograms of cocaine.

Puzzled, the guys looked at each other, then Cody shook his head: “I don't like it. Someone wants to plant it here for some reason.”

“But why?”

“Good question. For leverage, maybe. We should exchange this with powdered sugar or something and hide it somewhere.”

“I'm on it,” Nick said. “Go on, then, go running.”

“Maybe I should rather stay here...”

“We'll be alright,” Nick said, patting Cody's shoulder and lingering for a moment. Cody gave him a tight smile: “Okay. See you later.”

 

That night, as Nick, Cody and Murray were sitting in the salon playing Scrabble, someone knocked on their door. Cody looked at Murray, who quickly turned on the camera he had installed upon Cody's suggestion, then he called for their visitor to come in. It turned out to be two men who identified themselves as field agents from the FBI, and they asked Nick and Cody to accompany them to their headquarters. Sensing that this had something to do with the parcel, they agreed; before they left, insisting to drive themselves, Nick planted the bag of cocaine in the agents' car; apart from that, they took a tracking device and had Murray follow them in the Jimmy, just in case.

“Murray,” Nick murmured before he left, “go tell Mimi everything's alright, okay?”

“I will,” Murray whispered.

“Thanks, man,” Nick clapped him on the shoulder and went upstairs.

Mimi had already been dozing, but she had heard the car arrive and the slight commotion when the men left the Riptide.

She peered at Murray: “Is that you, Boz?”

“Yes,” Murray panted. “I don't have much time, but Nick asked me to tell you not to worry.”

“Why would I be worrying?”

“Right, er... no reason at all. We'll be back soon. Hopefully. Bye!”

Mimi stared after him a moment longer, then closed her eyes again.

 

The man who received them in his office downtown identified himself as Chief Inspector Mike Sharp. He wanted to hire Nick and Cody in order to spy on Pitbull Johnson, the very same former commander of theirs who had alerted Nick when Mimi was about to be euthanized. He was under suspicion to be smuggling drugs, which was downright preposterous. Nick and Cody made it very clear that they didn't for a moment believe Johnson had anything to do with the matter, but in the end, they accepted the job, if only to prove the FBI wrong.

 

Mimi snored loudly when they returned to the _Riptide_ rather late.

“So much for worrying about us,” Nick muttered as he entered the boat. If he had looked back, he'd have seen how the Ironwing opened her eyes for a moment and almost forgot to snore.

 

“So, what do we do?” Cody asked, pacing up and down the salon in agitation. “Should we be upfront with Pitbull?”

Nick shrugged, looking at his feet: “I dunno. I don't believe that he'd risk his dragon and his crew in that way, but what if we tell him and he confronts them? What if someone from his crew is involved? We might put him or Leviathan in the crosshairs.”

Murray frowned: “Leviathan?”

“His dragon. He's a Regal Copper with a wingspan of 173 feet. Weighs 48 tons.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah. He's a very valuable combat class dragon, and apart from that, Pitbull was present at his hatching, so they're an inseparable team.”

They were silent for a while.

“Maybe we shouldn't tell him,” Nick said pensively. “We'll pay him a visit, take him out for a few drinks and see how things develop from there.”

“Okay.” Cody nodded, but it was obvious that he, just like Nick, still wasn't very happy about this particular assignment.

 

Both of them lay awake for a long time that night, pondering the matter. At one point, Cody huffed a frustrated sigh and sat up, intending to go upstairs and make some warm milk.

“What are you doing?”

Nick's voice startled him and he paused: “I can't sleep,” he muttered. “Can't get Pitbull out of my head.”

“Me neither.” Nick sat up as well and turned on the small lamp above his bed. “So whose turn is it?”

Cody half-groaned, half-grinned: they were no strangers to the occasional bouts of insomnia, even back in Vietnam, so they had a sort of tradition which had developed over the years, and it had helped them through some pretty tough situations, including one night in a mud hole when they were almost certain they weren't going to survive. So yeah, why not now? He didn't even like warm milk that much.

“Yours,” Cody therefore said.

“'kay.” Nick turned the lamp off again, got to his feet and padded over to Cody's bunk: “Scoot over.”

“Aye, sir,” Cody said in a mock salute, but shimmied closer to the wall to make room for his partner. It felt good to have Nick so close, his warm skin against his own.

“Once upon a time,” Nick began, “there was a very small kingdom in a land far, far away... the old king had quit his job because he got bored one day, and the prince, a handsome blond guy with a moustache, wasn't exactly keen on the job either-”

“Blond guy with a moustache? I don't want to be the prince!”

“Relax, it's not you.”

“It sounded like me.”

“Do you want to hear the story or not?”

“Yeah, yeah...”

“So, one day, the prince saddled his magnificent horse and rode into the woods...”

“He better not met a grumpy dragon.”

“Shut up and listen.”

“'kay...”

 

Half an hour later, Cody drowsily listened into the darkness: “You asleep?”

“Uh huh...”

“'kay... night...”

Nick mumbled something incomprehensible and turned his face against Cody's shoulder.

Cody closed his eyes, unaware that he was smiling, and it didn't take long for him to doze off as well.

 

 

To Be Continued

 

 

 


	3. Means to an End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers for Season 2 episode 2 "The Orange Grove".

 

 

On the following morning, Nick was up early to take Mimi to the feeding grounds before they went to see Pitbull Johnson.

After touching down at pier 56 again, Nick cleaned the blood and other remains of the dragon's breakfast away with some old rags; once he was done, Mimi rather unexpectedly pushed her head against him and closed her eyes. She rarely cuddled with him of her own volition, therefore he dropped the rags, leaned his cheek against her warm hide and couldn't quite stop himself from smiling.

He still vividly remembered the first time he met her; it was in the field covert back in Vietnam, and she was curled up in her pen, apparently ignoring the goings-on around her. The officer who was accompanying him, one Lieutenant Perkins, thumped his foot against the wooden wall a few times: “Wake up, will you? Your new handler's here.”

Nick, who had been thrumming with excitement about this opportunity ever since he had been informed about it, didn't like the way the man talked to the dragon, and apparently, the latter didn't like it either, for she didn't react at all.

Perkins shook his head: “Obstinate beast,” he said disparagingly. “She's incredibly mulish and needs to be dealt with severely, in my opinion. None of her former crew stayed on after Rawlins died, because she drove them all away. She is like that. See how she didn't even notice us?”

Nick however saw that Mimi's ears were perked ever so subtly, and there was a fine, barely discernible tremor in her large body at the man's harsh words. He couldn't but feel for her. 

“Thank you for taking me here,” he said to Perkins, barely able to keep a civil tone. “I'll stay for a while, if you don't mind. Get acquainted.”

Perkins shrugged: “Sure. Be careful though. Her bite is venomous.”

Nick waited until the man was gone, then he slowly approached the pen: “Hey there,” he said softly. “My name is Nick.”

There was no reaction apart from a slight movement of the ears.

“I'm sorry about your captain,” Nick continued. “I hear he was a good guy.”

Still no response.

“Listen,” Nick said, ever so gently putting his hand on the dark scales; he could feel the slight tremor he thought he'd seen. “I know what it feels like to lose someone who's important to you. So I can imagine that you're feeling lousy right now. Just thought you should know.”

He kept his hand on the dragon's hide, and eventually, the tremors abated somewhat.

He visited Mimi every day for over a week, which seemed a bit surreal amidst all the fighting and the general havoc, and he was always tired between shifts and could have used some sleep. Apart from that, people kept trying to push him, pointing out that every day was counting. But to him, it was clear that Mimi needed some time, that she was grieving and being treated unjustly. So he went to her pen every day as soon as he could, putting up with his fatigue for the sake of a dragon he just felt he couldn't give up on, and on the ninth day, she turned towards him for the first time, looking at him for a long moment before she wordlessly lowered her head and began to take in his scent.

“Nick,” she then said in a deep voice. “If you'll be my new captain, then I sure hope you're worth your salt.”

Nick just grinned: “Right back at you, darling.”

And that was that. They were assigned a crew and their new formation, which happened to be Johnson's, and after a week of hurried basic training, they were officially ready to enter combat. Nick had been second lieutenant on Leviathan, so it wasn't new to him, but having the command was different, and the responsibility was enormous. Luckily for him, Mimi seemed to respond well to him, and his crew knew what they were doing. Cody, who had so far been part of another dragon's crew, had applied for a transfer as soon as Nick's new post had been confirmed, and as luck would have it, was indeed appointed one of Mimi's riflemen.

Nick did feel a lot safer knowing Cody was there because he was the best damn shot he had ever seen. In hindsight, he thought that without Mimi and Cody he'd probably not even have been able to bear the madness of it all.

Mimi didn't show him any affection at first, but he noticed that she was grateful when he took the time to wipe the dirt off her hide after a mission and made sure she got her fair share of the grub the dragons were served. He also saw to it that her harness was in good shape so she didn't sustain any sore spots, and that her pen was kept clean. Gradually, Mimi seemed to warm to him, and when a bullet grazed him one day and he fell off her back upon opening his carabiners after landing, she nosed at him quite anxiously until he stirred, making a soft keening noise he hadn't heard of her or any dragon before.

They had come a long way since then, Nick now thought as he gently stroked Mimi's scales.

“You smell of Cody,” Mimi said when they finally pulled apart.

Nick couldn't stop himself from blushing: “We live together,” he said. “Of course I do.”

Mimi blinked: “Usually, it's less noticeable.”

“Yeah, so?”

“Just saying.” Mimi actually looked smug.

 

On his way back to the _Riptide_ Nick contemplated this, and his heart began to beat like a drum as he thought about how he had woken up that morning with Cody's arm around him and their legs entangled. Even before he was fully awake, he knew that he was feeling safe and secure. He opened his eyes and took stock of Cody's breath on his neck and the warmth that radiated from the other's body, and though it was cramped in the narrow bunk, he was tempted to simply close his eyes again and enjoy it while it lasted. But he knew that they had to get an early start, so he only allowed himself a few more minutes before he slowly sat up, if with regret. This was something he wanted, if he was honest with himself. He just wasn't sure if it was what Cody wanted. They had occasionally shared a bed before, so maybe he really shouldn't read anything into it. Particularly since it was him who had joined Cody this time, not the other way round. Well, he had undeniably felt welcome, but what if he was mistaking the situation for something else? It might ruin their friendship and with it, their livelihood.

With a sigh, he got up and quietly left the room.

 

As he entered the salon now, the heavenly scent of coffee and scrambled eggs greeted him; his friends were already sitting at the table.

“Good morning, Nick,” Murray said brightly.

Cody smiled at him: “Morning. I didn't hear you getting up.”

Nick rubbed his neck as he went to pour himself some coffee: “Morning, guys. Yeah, I tried not to wake you.”

Cody's expression was inscrutable as he regarded Nick now.

“So,” Murray, apparently oblivious of the momentary tension, rubbed his hands together: “Are we going to take a trip today?”

They had decided to go by car since it would have required a lot of time and effort to get clearance for Mimi to land at the base.

 

General Johnson was pleasantly surprised to see them. Once they were done with the greetings, which involved a lot more wrestling than Murray had expected, Johnson motioned towards the dragons' quarters: “Come say hello to old Levi.”

“How is he?” Nick asked as they fell into step with their old commander.

“Hungry,” Johnson said, sounding affectionate. “So no news there.”

Leviathan lived up to his name: he towered over them. If Murray had thought Mimi was big, he was so impressed by the Regal Copper that he just stared at him speechlessly for a full minute.

Leviathan lowered his head however and gently nosed at them: “Cody! Nick! It _is_ you!”

“Hey, big guy,” Nick said, stroking the warm hide. “Long time no see, huh?”

“Thirteen years,” Leviathan said. “How have you been?”

“We're fine,” Cody said, smiling.

“And is Mimi still with you?”

“Yes, and she said to say hello.”

“Really?” Cody muttered.

Nick ignored him: “This here is our friend Murray.”

“Nice to meet you.”

Murray cleared his throat: “Nice to meet you too,” he stammered. “In fact, I've never had the honour to meet someone as large as you.”

At that, Johnson barked out a laugh: “You should have seen our formation back in 'Nam, son! Two Regal Coppers, one Grand Chevalier, two Longwings, one Yellow Reaper and Mimi. Quite a sight!”

Leviathan looked from him to Murray: “Well, I can imagine that it is daunting at first if one isn't used to it,” he said politely.

Murray nodded, surprised: “Yes. Yes, you are right.”

 

They went for drinks and a bite to eat with Pitbull; since they had decided not to bring up the FBI's accusations, they told him made up stories about their lives after the service and indicated that they might be involved in some drug smuggling. Upon hearing that, Pitbull got so angry with them that he got up and left, but not before he told them that they were a disgrace, especially since they didn't only put their own but also Mimi's life in danger.

Cody and Nick looked at each other, not exactly happy with the outcome but still relieved: this was the old Pitbull they knew and valued, and they had been right in thinking he'd never stoop so low.

“Come on, Murray,” Cody was just saying, since Murray had fallen asleep with his head on the table after one drink, when there was a commotion outside, and someone was shouting. By the time Nick and Cody arrived however, they were too late: someone had abducted Pitbull.

Nick rubbed his neck: “Okay, so there's definitely something going on there.”

Cody nodded: “Let's go home,” he said dejectedly. “To try and come up with a plan.”

 

That night, they sat in the salon feeling guilty.

“We should have told him what our visit was about,” Nick said, fidgeting with his empty mug.

“Why do you think they followed us?” Murray asked. He was sitting with his head in his hand, but he looked a bit more alive again after having slept off his hangover in the afternoon.

Cody shrugged: “Question is if they followed him or us.”

Nick shook his head: “Had to have been him, right? They didn't know we were...” He trailed off. “Or maybe they did.”

“I feel like we're running around in circles,” Cody muttered. “Nothing makes sense. Why would the FBI hire us and then kidnap him?”

“You're right.”

Murray sat up a little straighter: “Maybe they, whoever they were, had him bugged and heard what we said.”

“I don't know, Murray,” Nick looked doubtful. “Isn't that an awful lot of trouble? And why kidnap him? Why didn't they just kill him?”

Right then, there was a knock on the door and a cheerful voice: “Good evening, gentlemen, permission to come aboard!”

“You already have,” Cody said serenely.

“Right!” Quinlan replied, beaming, “Because I've got a lovely search warrant for your little dinghy here. Boys- start looking!” Three more officers came in and spread out.

He was less smug when the bag he found wasn't the expected cocaine but powdered sugar, but the video Murray had shot, showing the FBI men on the previous evening, still didn't convince him, because he had also gotten a bunch of photos showing the guys at lunch with Johnson.

“Okay,” Nick said, already at the end of his tether, “if you don't believe us that we're not smuggling cocaine with Brigardier General Johnson, we'll go and talk to Inspector Sharp together. Come on, we'll fly there.”

“The hell am I flying on that overgrown lizard of yours,” Quinlan snapped. “No, we'll go by car. And you better are telling the truth!”

“Or what?” Nick asked through gritted teeth, stepping closer to the lieutenant. “You've got nothing on us, and you know it.”

“Guys,” Cody said placatingly, putting himself between them, “calm down. We'll go and see Sharp, it'll hopefully clear things up.”

 

Unfortunately, the large office space was empty, leading to a lengthy tirade from Quinlan and a whole lot of fresh questions.

“At least he didn't arrest us,” Cody said glumly once they were back on the _Riptide_.

“Yeah,” Nick muttered. “I'd nevertheless like to kick him where it counts. And now we still haven't got a single clue as to where Pitbull might be.”

Murray was chewing on his lip: “Maybe we should talk to his crew.”

“Yeah, but what if they are involved?” Cody frowned.

Nick shook his head: “If they are, Leviathan might be in danger. He will want to know where his captain got to. So even if they need him, they'll make sure he won't become an inconvenience.”

They looked at one another.

“Seems like we've got no choice, then,” Cody said.

 

Leviathan was restless. His captain had not returned to the covert at Fort Sumpter, which was highly unusual, yet no one he asked seemed to know anything about it. So he stayed awake, waiting worriedly and feeling uneasy.

It was past midnight when he heard someone approaching, but it wasn't Doug.

“Nick,” Leviathan said, surprised and with fresh anxiety rolling through his stomach. “What-”

“Shhh,” Nick replied softly. “I'm not supposed to be here. If anyone sees me, they'll arrest me, you understand?”

“Yes.”

Nick put a soothing hand on the large dragon's warm hide: “I'm sorry, Levi, but something's happened.”

“Doug?”

“I'm afraid so. He's been kidnapped, and it's possible that someone from your own crew is involved, so we have to be careful. I want you to come with me.”

Leviathan regarded him with a sorrowful expression: “Forgive me for saying this,” he said after a moment. “But how do I know that I can trust you? He went away with you and then he disappeared. How do I know that you're not deceiving me?”

“That is a good question,” Nick said after a moment of deliberation. “And you're right, it's a long time since we fought a war together. But I'm not trying to force you, Levi. I'm just hoping you'll trust me because I think you're not safe here any longer.”

The dragon was silent for a while. “Doug always says I should rely on my instincts,” he muttered. “And I have never had any reason not to trust you.”

“So you'll come with me?”

“Yes.”

“Good.” Nick was relieved.

“And where are we going?”

“We'll find a place for you to hide, and then we'll try and find Pit- I mean, Doug.”

“Oh.”

“Listen, we can't use your harness because it's too heavy for me to put it on without help, and someone might hear us. But I can manage without carabiners for a short hop, and Mimi is waiting nearby. Will you lift me onto your neck?”

“Yes.”

“Great, thanks. We have to be quick once we're in the air, Levi. You up to it?”

“Of course, if it means I'm getting Doug back.”

“I sure hope so.”

Once Nick was in position, Leviathan got ready to lift off. Nick crouched low in order to brace himself for the inevitable sudden surge of acceleration that only experienced people managed to handle without being strapped in; he could feel how the Regal Copper drew breath and gathered strength in his hindlegs before he jumped into the air and quickly spread his enormous wings.

A few powerful beats, and they were away.

 

 

 

To Be Continued

 

 


	4. The Events of the Night in Question

 

 

 

Nobody seemed to have noticed anything, not even the dragons in the enclosures right next to Leviathan's because they were fast asleep. The wind had picked up considerably in the meantime as well, which could only work in their favour.

Nick had forgotten how different it felt to fly on a beast as large as the Regal Copper, how powerful its movements were, how loud its wingbeats, reminiscent of a sail snapping taut in the wind. He wouldn't have traded Mimi for it, however.

They landed next to the Ironwing a few minutes later and Leviathan put Nick down. Immediately, Mimi curled her claw around her captain in a possessive way and nosed at him: “What took you so long?” she asked. “I was beginning to think the wind blew you away.”

“I'm okay,” Nick said softly, stroking her hide. “And you've got no reason to be jealous, Sweetheart. Don't you remember Leviathan?”

Grumblingly, Mimi released him and greeted the larger dragon, whose attention had been on Cody and Murray in the meantime. He was still rather anxious and nosed at Mimi nervously now. She seemed to soften a bit when he told her that he was worried about his captain: “Humans are so frail,” he said. “What if they don't feed him?”

“Since they've gone to the trouble to abduct him, they'll probably make sure he won't starve,” Murray chimed in. “He must be a valuable asset to them for some reason.”

“I'm sorry,” Cody now said, “but we need to get going if we want to reach the island before dawn.”

Nick nodded, looking around: “Yep. Best not to linger anyway.”

 

They arrived at Santa Barbara Island just as the horizon was beginning to assume a rosy tint; the wind slowed them down somewhat.

“There are caves all along these cliffs,” Nick told Leviathan once they had landed on the beach. “You can hide in them if need be, but be careful. Some of them will flood occasionally.”

“And what do I eat?” The great dragon looked around.

“You can't eat the elephant seals,” Murray said at once. “They are protected.”

“No, but I happen to know that Levi is a skilled swimmer and knows how to catch fish,” Nick said. “I'm sorry if that's all there's on offer, Levi, but at least it'll pass the time.”

Leviathan sighed: “Fine. How long will I have to stay here?”

“Hopefully, only for a few days.”

“If you don't mind,” Murray now interjected, pulling a pen out of his shirt pocket, “I'd like to write down the names of your crew members.”

“Alright,” the dragon said unhappily.

Murray pushed his glasses up his nose: “And I'd like to give you a tracking device. You know, so I can monitor where you are.” He didn't say 'just in case', and he didn't need to.

Levi's head drooped: “I wish Doug had one of those.”

“Me too,” Murray said, his sympathy evident in his tone and his expression. “Me too.”

 

Back on the _Riptide_ , Murray immediately powered up his computers and began to enter the names which Leviathan had given him into his search engine while Cody made breakfast; Nick had taken Mimi to the feeding grounds. When he came in half an hour later, his friends were still sitting at the table in the salon, looking as tired as Nick felt.

He sat down next to Cody, gratefully accepting the mug of coffee his partner handed him: “Thanks.”

Cody glanced at him sideways: “You okay?”

“Yeah.” But Nick's voice was much quieter than usual, and Cody knew he was concerned about Leviathan.

“He'll be fine,” he said softly, bumping Nick's shoulder with his own.

Nick remained silent, but he leaned against Cody for a moment. “I hope the same goes for Pitbull,” he then muttered into his mug.

 

A few minutes later, the Roboz alerted Murray that he had found something.

“Robert Turner,” he read, pushing his glasses further up his nose. “That name stands out. He belongs to Leviathan's ground crew... But what's strange is that there are no records of him before he joined the aerial forces. All the others on the crew are rather inconspicuous.”

They exchanged a look: “So it might be a fake name,” Cody said. “We should go talk to him. Do you have an address, Boz, in case he's not on base?”

“Let me see...” Murray began to type.

“I'll just take a quick shower,” Nick said, rubbing his neck. “Or did you want to go first?”

“No, that's alright,” Cody said, and Murray nodded. “Just leave some hot water for us.”

Nodding, Nick disappeared down the stairs; in the privacy of his mind, he thought that it'd be so much more efficient if Cody and he simply showered together. With a sigh, he turned on the spray.

 

The covert at Fort Sumpter was in an uproar because of Leviathan's disappearance. Nick and Cody had expected that and actually hesitated to go there at all, but in the end decided to risk it. Since they were acquaintances of General Johnson, they were free to enter, but they kept their heads down, not only because they were the last persons seen with him before his abduction. No one paid them much attention however, since not only the staff was troubled: the dragons were agitated as well, and there was a general buzz of concern in the air.

Cody and Nick pretended to be as surprised and dismayed as everyone else, using the pretext of only having wanted to see how Leviathan was doing without Johnson. It actually made for an excellent excuse to visit the enclosure assigned to the Regal Copper; Turner was there as well, and to the two detectives, it seemed as though he was nervous. Which could have been caused by the circumstances, of course, but they weren't so sure about that.

When Nick and Cody entered the clearing, Lieutenant Harcourt, who was Johnson's second-in-command, had just assembled the crew and the ground crew and was talking to them: “... no one has noticed anything, and the guards on duty didn't register any commotion. Since it was a rather windy night, they didn't hear any dragon or dragons in flight either. As you can imagine, someone must have had some convincing leverage in order for Leviathan to give in to their demands; I'm thinking he was abducted by the same people who took the Captain, but that's my personal opinion as long as we don't have any proof of it.”

He looked around: “Levi's harness is gone as well, so we are dealing with a highly professional operation.”

Nick and Cody exchanged a look: they hadn't taken the harness, not least because it was huge and heavy; even if Nick had been able to put it on the large dragon on his own, it would have made far too much noise.

Turner shifted from one foot to the other at these news, and he was definitely a little paler around his nose than before.

Once the lieutenant had finished speaking, Turner immediately vanished. Cody and Nick followed him but lost him; he had the home advantage, after all, and it wasn't advisable to run through a covert full of nervous dragons anyway.

“We'll just pay him a visit at home,” Cody said. “I don't think he noticed that we were on his heels.”

Nick nodded: “While we're here- we can't exactly tell anyone that Leviathan didn't wear his harness when he took off. But it seems strange that it's gone, right?”

“Yes?”

“Maybe the harness is a means to smuggle drugs. You know, they could be sown into the leather straps for example. We should find out who ordered the whole inquiry anyway.”

“You mean, someone here on base tipped the FBI off?”

“Yeah. Because I'm thinking it's got something to do with Johnson himself rather than the drugs. They've got dogs to sniff those out, they don't need us to spy on Johnson. They just wanted to make sure it was he who was going to be blamed for it, not anyone else.”

“Quite a risk with such a large crew.”

“Yeah.”

“So what now?”

“Let's go back and have a word with Harcourt. Usually, these things get around, even if people choose to ignore it when they think it's nonsense.”

 

Harcourt shook his head: “I can't imagine anyone wanting to harm the Captain. He's very well respected.”

Cody glanced at Nick: he had phrased the question very cautiously. “Did you hear any rumours... about Johnson being involved in drug smuggling?”

At that, Harcourt bristled: “What are you insinuating?”

“Nothing,” Nick raised his hands placatingly. “We don't believe it any more than you do; we've served with him in 'Nam, we know that he doesn't have a dishonest bone in his body.”

Cody nodded: “We just think that it might have something to do with his abduction. Unless there are any other reasons you could tell us.”

Harcourt shook his head contemplatively: “None. But why abduct Leviathan as well if what you say is true? That doesn't make any sense.”

Pointedly, Nick and Cody avoided looking at each other at that while they agreed with Harcourt.

“So you haven't heard anything of that kind,” Cody then prompted him to sum things up, and he denied it.

“If you have further questions, I'd like to refer you to the aerial supervisor, Colonel Davidson. He left for an urgent errant earlier but he should be back by now.”

They thanked him and left, making a detour to see if Davidson was back. The door to his office was ajar, which didn't bode well, and after exchanging a glance, they both pulled their guns. The two adjoining rooms were mostly empty, however, apart from a body which was lying in a pool of blood behind a large desk.

Cody bent over to take a look: “It's Inspector Sharp,” he said, surprised. “But according to his name tag here, this is Colonel Davidson. This is getting crazier by the minute.”

Nick rubbed his neck: “Seems like he's had a bone to pick with Pitbull, then.”

“Yeah.” Cody straightened up: “The question is who had a bone to pick with him.”

Nick shook his head: “Someone who used the commotion about Levi to their advantage. I don't like this, Cody.”

“Me neither,” Cody said softly. “Let's see if we can find anything before someone else comes and finds us.”

“You know,” Nick said contemplatively, “I'm thinking maybe he's got something to do with the missing harness.”

Cody paused: “How so?”

“Well- he was here when Levi's absence was discovered, and whoever took it must have been quick. The dragons are not harnessed in their own quarters nowadays but have specifically assigned stations for that because of the weapons they are carrying and the relevant safety regulations. The dragon's harness, their armour and all weaponry are stowed at their respective stations, plus, it makes for less chaos because it's more orderly than people running around in the enclosures.”

Nodding, Cody considered this: “So he knew it was the perfect moment, and he had access to the lockers.” He regarded Nick: “Do you think he's got something to do with Pitbull's abduction as well?”

Nick shrugged: “I dunno, man. But we better find something to help us find him. Harcourt said that Davidson was gone for some time earlier. So if he took the harness and stowed it away somewhere, it can't be that far.”

“Right.” Cody began to search the pockets of a jacket that was hanging on the back of a chair: “Here's a set of keys. Smaller than car keys.”

“Maybe Murray can find out where they're from.”

“Yeah...”

After searching fruitlessly for a few more minutes, they left the office with the keys and the distinct feeling that they weren't getting anywhere. Turner wasn't at home either, and his apartment was mostly bare of personal belongings, so that was another dead end for the time being.

“He may not have noticed us," Nick said, "but if he thinks he's being investigated by someone else, he won't show up anytime today.”

Cody nodded: “You're right.”

They still waited in the car for some time, just to be sure.

"So why do you think Davidson set up this whole charade to hire us?" Cody wondered.

"I dunno, man. But I really, really don't like it."

"I'm with you." Cody gave him a tight smile. 

For a while, both remained silent.

“Let's come back after dark,” Nick eventually suggested, and Cody nodded, though neither of them was looking forward to a nightly stakeout.

 

By the time they got back to the marina, it was late afternoon. While Cody headed straight over to the _Riptide_ , Nick went to see how Mimi was doing. She was sleeping soundly when he approached her, and he just leaned against her for a while, finding comfort in her strong bulk and her even breathing.

Murray hadn't been idling in the meantime, but so far, he hadn't been able to find out Turner's real identity.

“I'm sorry,” he said tiredly.

Cody put his hand on his shoulder and squeezed it: “No need to apologize, Boz,” he said. “Did you keep an eye on Levi?”

“Oh, yes. He's been fishing, from the looks of his movements, and it seems as though he's retreated to one of the caves now.”

Cody sighed: “He's very brave. I hope he's okay.”

After he had told Murray about Fort Sumpter and "Agent Sharp”, he showed him the keys: “If we find out where these came from, we might find the harness and maybe even a hint that will lead us to Pitbull.”

Murray frowned: “I can try, but these could open anything- a locker, a garage door, a large padlock...”

“There are numbers on them, see?”

“Yes...” Murray didn't sound hopeful, though he started to investigate immediately. That day didn't turn up any new leads however, and since they were all exhausted after a night without sleep, they decided to call it a night and refrain from staking out Turner when the entire Riptide Detective Agency almost fell asleep during dinner.

 

A few hours later, Cody startled awake from an obscure dream. He blinked into the darkness of the stateroom until he realized it hadn't been real, then he burrowed into his pillow and closed his eyes again. Tired as he was however, he couldn't go back to sleep. His mind was on their case, and he kept wondering how Pitbull was doing. So he lay awake, trying to concentrate on listening to Nick's quiet breathing and the sounds of the old boat, but his mind kept running in circles. At one point, he got up and crouched down next to Nick's bunk: “Nick? Are you awake?”

After a moment, Nick hummed, managing to sound remarkably like Mimi when she was disgruntled.

“I can't sleep,” Cody muttered, not in the least deterred. “You fell asleep before the end yesterday. I want to know how the story ends.”

“Now?” Nick slurred, obviously not awake, but he moved closer to the wall to make room for his partner nevertheless and lifted the blanket in a silent invitation.

Cody's heart was beating in his throat all of a sudden, if in a pleasant way. He slid under the blanket and made himself comfortable: “So? What happened after the prince was accidentally turned into a duck?”

But Nick only muttered something incomprehensible, turned onto his side and put his arm around Cody's midriff. The latter couldn't stop himself from smiling at that. He shimmied a little and snaked both arms around Nick, pulling him even closer, which felt all kinds of amazing. With a content little sigh, he closed his eyes.

 

Early on the following morning, Cody woke up lying on his other side with a warm weight against his back, Nick's arm still – or again- around him and a leg that was tangled up with his. It was rather breathtaking, and Cody's heart clenched with want. He wanted this to be their every day. He just didn't know how Nick was going to react once he woke up.

He closed his eyes again, determined not to wake his partner but to enjoy this as long as it lasted.

He had almost dozed off once more when Nick stirred. A moment later, he slowly sat up, disentangling himself from Cody, and climbed over him to go to the bathroom. Cody wondered if he should get up and return to his own bunk, but hadn't decided about the matter yet when Nick came back, climbed over him again and pretty much resumed his former position, arm, leg and all. Making Cody's heart beating like a drum again. He could feel Nick's breath against his neck; if he hadn't been so comfortable, he'd have turned around right now to kiss him, hang the consequences. As it was, he stayed still, awed by what was happening.

“So,” Nick unexpectedly muttered, his voice gravelly, “the prince's horse went to find help.”

“Oh,” Cody said after a moment of comprehension. “Interesting development. Did it succeed?”

“It found a dashing dark knight. He turned the duck back into a prince. End of story.”

“No, not the end yet,” Cody protested. “There's gotta be a happily ever after. And how did he turn the prince back at all?”

Nick was silent for a few seconds, then he suddenly moved, climbing over Cody again and settling down on his other side so that they could look at each other. He was dishevelled and sleep-soft and utterly lovely, and his eyes were smiling as they roamed over his partner's face.

“Like this,” he said gently, leaning in to kiss Cody. Who gasped, then smiled into the kiss.

They didn't go back to sleep after that.

 

 

To Be Continued

 


	5. Rock and a Hard Place

 

 

When Murray came up the stairs from his room roughly an hour later, Cody and Nick were already sitting at the table in the salon with a steaming pot of coffee, so close together that there wasn't any room left between them at all, which Murray put down to their concern for Johnson and Leviathan. He had long since noticed that they usually sought each other's closeness for comfort, if not always intentional. They didn't seem particularly downtrodden though, just a little quiet, but Murray thought there was a lot of energy palpable nevertheless; probably adrenaline.

Sure enough, Cody and Nick were inwardly brimming with excitement and giddiness, and despite the situation, they both felt lighter than air. Even this, just sitting next to one another as closely as possible, something they had done hundreds of times, was electrifying, all the more so because they had to contain themselves for the time being. Now was not the right moment to tell Murray that something had changed, not when they still hadn't found Pitbull.

“I feel guilty,” Cody had actually muttered earlier, as he and Nick had stilled, were lying with their arms wrapped around one another and their hearts still beating wildly, both of them awed by what was happening.

“Because of this?” Despite his quiet tone, Nick had sounded distraught.

“No, of course not,” Cody's hand found the other's cheek, gently caressing: “because of Pitbull. He's probably waiting for someone to help him, and yet here we are...” He smiled ruefully.

Nick looked relieved: “Yeah,” he said softly. “I know. But we're of no use to him if we're half asleep, and this...” He paused, unable to subdue his own smile. “The timing could have been better, but I'm still glad it happened.”

Cody leaned forward to kiss him: “Me too,” he murmured against Nick's lips. “So much.”

 

Murray now sat down at the table with his bowl of cereal: “So, how do we proceed?”

Cody heaved a sigh: “Since we don't have a clue as to where Pitbull might be, we should probably try and find Turner.”

“Yeah.” Nick poured some more coffee: “And we should try to find out what the keys are for.”

“I'm on it,” Murray said. “So far, nothing came up, but I've got some more ideas, and the computer is running them as we speak. I-” He suddenly broke off, staring into the middle distance: “Guys! I entirely forgot something! The car!”

“Which car?” Cody and Nick asked in unison.

“The agents' car! I put a transmitter on it once you were inside the building- maybe the car will lead us to Pitbull!” He was on his feet and half way down the stairs before he had finished the last sentence.

“Let me get my monitor,” he called from his room, “so we can rule out it's at Fort Sumpter. I don't assume they'd hide Pitbull there, so if the car is at the base, it's probably unnecessary to look into it any further.” He came back up with his eyes on the receiver: “There. Get me a map, I need a map!”

Cody jumped to his feet and retrieved a map of Southern California for him. Half a minute later, Murray gave a shout: “Ha! It's not Fort Sumpter, guys! We may have a lead...”

“That's boss, Murray,” Nick said. “What are the coordinates you got?”

 

“No, no, no, no, no!” Lieutenant Quinlan shook his head. “I'm not flying on that wretched creature of yours in order to follow up some random delusion!”

“It's not a delusion,” Cody said with remarkable patience, simultaneously putting a hand on Nick's chest to placate him. “We have reason to believe that Brigadier General Douglas Johnson is being held captive at that place. We told you about his abduction, didn't we?”

“Yes, and for 'proof' you clowns showed me an empty office building!”

“We're wasting our time arguing,” Murray interrupted them. “Look, Lieutenant, you can either help us or not. But if it turns out that we were right, it'll not make you look good if you refused!”

Quinlan scowled: “Fine. But we'll take a car.”

“That'd take far too long, the location is in the desert.”

“Come on,” Cody urged, simply ignoring the lieutenant's objections. “Mimi's right outside.”

 

Mimi eyed Quinlan sceptically, but for once, she didn't say anything. As soon as they were all strapped in, she lifted off, and as usual, Nick couldn't help but to enjoy the sensation of being airborne, despite the circumstances.

They reached the location roughly 90 minutes later; Nick had Mimi land behind a ridge, since their target was situated in a valley.

Once he had climbed off the dragon's back, Quinlan bent over and rested his hands above his knees for a moment.

“You okay?” Nick asked.

“Yeah. Just not used to flying anymore, upsets my stomach.”

Nick and Cody exchanged a look, but didn't comment on that.

On foot, Nick, Quinlan and Cody went to take a closer look: there were a few small buildings, surrounded by a heavy duty fence and guarded by armed men. The car Murray had bugged was visible just behind one of the huts.

“Do you believe us now?” Cody hissed.

Quinlan frowned: “How do we know Johnson's in there though?”

“He's got to be,” Nick said.

“Look at those license plates on those Jeeps,” Cody, who was still watching the small compound through his binoculars, now said. “Doesn't look like something from the government. This may be an illegal operation. If these people are involved with the drug smuggling, it'd be worth to investigate anyway.”

“I can't well go down there and arrest them because you ladies have got a hunch, can I?” Quinlan snapped.

“I'd say suspected kidnapping and smuggling contraband is worth a shot,” Nick muttered. “Especially when a high-ranking military officer is involved.”

Quinlan regarded him: “If you're wrong, Ryder, I'll personally haul you three to the commissioner, understood?”

 

Mimi flew back to King Harbor at top speed. This time, Quinlan's stomach apparently was even less agreeable with it, since the lieutenant suddenly lurched sideways and threw up just a few miles before they reached the police station.

Mimi roared: “Ew! What are you doing? Nick, he's puking on me!”

Nick quickly put a hand on her neck: “Calm down,” he said. “We're nearly there, I'll wash it off as soon as we land.”

Mimi kept making huffing sounds though. Once they had touched the ground, Cody helped Quinlan down; he was white-faced and a little shaky. “Last time I've ridden on one of those,” he said.

Mimi eyed him with a frown: “Civilized people would have apologized,” she grumbled.

“Tough luck,” Quinlan retorted, then he turned towards the station. “I'll need Bozinsky with me,” he said gruffly. “Come along, will you?”

Murray shrugged: “See you later, guys.” He picked up his equipment and followed Quinlan inside.

Nick, who had gone to get some water and a cloth to clean up the mess, shook his head: “Is he really doing it?”

“Looks like it,” Cody said. “He'll take Murray with him.”

“Let's hope they succeed.” Nick was worried. “I'd rather go with them as well.”

“Me too.”

 

Back at the marina, they split up: Cody went through the data the computer had turned up on the keys, keeping an ear out for the radio, while Nick went to Turner's apartment to see if he was there. He wasn't, though, and it didn't look as though he had been home in the meantime at all.

Therefore, he returned to the _Riptide_ : “Any luck?”

“Nah,” Cody sighed. “I'm still on it. I didn't know there were that many storage facilities and public lockers around... No word from Quinlan either.”

“'kay. I'll go and take Mimi to the feeding grounds, okay? She hasn't had any breakfast and her mood's not the best anyway after what happened...” He grinned.

Cody laughed: “Who'd have thought Quinlan's that delicate.”

“You know what the best thing about that is? He knows that we won't let him forget it so soon...”

"Mimi certainly won't."

Now they laughed loudly.

“Hey, Nick?” Cody said once they had calmed down and Nick was turning to go.

Nick paused: “Yeah?”

“Come here for a sec.” Cody reached for him.

Nick took his hand and let Cody draw him closer for a kiss: “Just because,” he said, smiling, and Nick smiled as well, and kept doing so as he went over to Mimi's.

 

They flew to the feeding grounds, and afterwards, Nick took particular care in rubbing Mimi down; he could tell that she was rather mollified by then.

Once he was done, Mimi settled down for a nap, curling up and closing her eyes while Nick cleared away the bucket and rags and went to check her water trough. He was just wiping his hands on an old towel when a blow to his neck sent him to his knees. He gasped at the sudden onset of pain and hadn't yet recovered enough to react when a kick to his back had him hit the ground hard; he heard something in his left arm break before he felt it.

For a moment, there was nothing but agony, then someone grabbed his shirt with brute force and yanked him backwards until he managed to scramble to his feet. He was panting, trying not to black out, as the person pressed the muzzle of a gun to his neck: “Don't try anything stupid,” they said.

Mimi, who had been on the point of dozing off, abruptly lifted her head. When she saw what was going on, she visibly tensed up and began to snarl, lowly but viciously: “Let him go,” she said threateningly.

Nick, who was afraid she might do anything rash, tried to appease her: “It's gonna be alright,” he rasped, which was all he could for now.

“Right,” the man who was holding him said. “As long as you do as I say.”

“What do you want?”

“I want you to take me to Leviathan. I know you've hidden him somewhere.”

Nick understood: “Turner. That you?”

“Yes. And now we'll leave. Nice and slow. No funny business, you hear me?” He shook Nick, which sent jolts of pain through his arm and his ribs. Great.

“Okay,” he said through gritted teeth. “But you'll need to help me put her harness on. Thanks to you, my left arm is useless.”

Turner snorted: “Fine.”

Mimi tried to refuse at first, but when she saw that Turner was easily able to cause Nick some serious pain, she complied; ten minutes later, they were ready to go.

“What do you want with Levi?” Nick asked.

“None of your business,” Turner growled. Nick had an inkling that this probably was about the harness, but he knew better than to tell his captor Levi wasn't wearing it. Instead, he tried to come up with a plan.

Since Nick couldn't climb with only one arm, Mimi lifted him up; Turner strapped himself in where Cody usually sat. That way, he could keep his gun trained on Nick.

With one mighty jump, they were off.

 

Cody was almost through all the printouts, albeit without any results, when the radio came to life. It was Murray, who excitedly told him that they had apprehended the men in the compound and that Pitbull had indeed been held captive there. “It's a really long story, I'll tell you all about it once I'm back,” Murray said. “But Cody- Turner is in with this lot!”

“Good work, Murray,” Cody replied. “I'll go tell Nick. Turner wasn't at home earlier, but maybe we'll find him.”

“Okay, good luck! Bozinsky out.”

Grinning, Cody went outside and walked up the companionway, glad to have an excuse for a break. He stopped in his tracks as he looked over to Mimi's pad however: Nick and another man had just strapped themselves in, and the guy was holding a gun.

“Hey!” Cody yelled, his heart sinking, but Mimi had already launched herself into the air. She turned towards the open sea, and Cody kept his eyes on her as he ran down the companionway and jumped aboard the _Ebb Tide_.

 

Nick tried to keep himself upright, despite the pain that was running through him in waves; his thoughts were reeling. He couldn't take Turner to Leviathan, and he didn't want to risk his own dragon either. He had to do something, but his options were limited due to his injured arm and the fact that Turner was holding a gun whereas he didn't have any weapons. The only advantage he had was that Turner belonged to Leviathan's ground crew and probably wasn't used to flying, therefore he wasn't as skilled on the back of a dragon as Nick. Who suddenly knew what he had to do.

Slowly, he leaned forward: “Mimi!”

Turner, who was nervous enough as it was, immediately grabbed his shirt and yanked him backwards: “I said no funny business!”

Nick saw that Mimi's attention was on them now, her ears perked in their direction.

“Mimi,” he therefore repeated, ignoring Turner, “do as I say, okay?”

“Shut up!” Turner jabbed the gun into Nick's back.

“Mimi!” Nick yelled. “ _Dive!_ ”

“No!” Mimi roared without turning her head. “I'm not putting you at risk!”

“That's right, you better not!” Turner shouted, looking panicked and jabbing the gun into Nick's back anew.

“Mims!” Nick tore away from Turner despite the gun and put his hand on her hide. “Do it! I'll be fine!”

Mimi felt his touch going through her like a bolt. He was always considerate with her, always. She'd know him from a thousand others even with her eyes closed, not only because of his scent, but because of his hand, steady and warm, on her scales. It had been there even when they first met, even before she knew what he looked like. In combat, he had used it instead of verbal communication sometimes, and she had gotten used to it- it was Nick's way to tell her that all was well, that she was doing fine, that he was there to guide her, that he was _there_.

Even later, when they were flying over the ocean with some tourists on her back, or just the two of them- this ever so small contact was important. And now he wasn't fine, _they_ weren't fine, as long as this madman was threatening him. Of course she declined a dive, because it was going to pull Nick down with her, would drown him- his hand however told her that she had to, that it was urgent, that it was their only chance. That he had a plan. And she trusted him. So Mimi took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment, concentrating on that small spot of warmth.

Then she dove.

 

Turner screamed as he abruptly lost his seat when Mimi suddenly dropped down, but he quickly grabbed the carabiner and clung to it awkwardly, unable to do anything about the fact that his gun was lost; it didn't matter now, as long as he didn't let go.

"Stop it!" he screamed, wishing he could at least kick at Ryder, but he didn't have any control over his body at this kind of tearing pace.

Nick ignored him. He had grabbed Mimi's harness and held on to it for dear life; somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he had to unclasp the carabiner, so he hooked the elbow of his injured arm around the strap, his eyes streaming from the pain, and blindly fumbled for the snap hook with his good hand, keeping his gaze on the rapidly approaching surface of the ocean.

Just as Mimi's head was about to breach it, he pushed off and jumped.

 

 

 To Be Continued

 

 

 


	6. The Living Daylights

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See how I didn't let you wait very long this time? *awards hero points to self* 😘

 

 

 

Cody was accelerating the _Ebb Tide_ as fast as she could go, his eyes on Mimi, quite some distance ahead of him. His heart positively stopped for a moment when he saw the dragon suddenly fold in her wings and take a nosedive.

“What are you doing?” he yelled, despite the fact that Mimi couldn't possibly hear him. It only took a few seconds, though he watched it like in slow motion. Shortly afterwards, she was gone, catapulting large amounts of water into the air. The waves her impact produced hit Cody as he was nearing the site, forcing him to slow down; seconds later, the Ironwing broke through the surface again, only her head and her wings visible: “Nick!” she immediately shouted, looking around. “Nick!”

Cody's heart skipped another beat. _God, no_.

He brought the _Ebb Tide_ to a stop next to the dragon: “Mimi, what happened- are you all right?”

For once, Mimi didn't scoff at him.

“Nick told me to dive,” she said, her deep voice desperate. “He didn't know what else to do about Turner...” Again, she looked around: “Nick!”

“Is that-” Cody pointed to the lifeless body hanging off her harness, looking grotesque.

“Yes, it's Turner. He went down with me. Nick!”

“Nick!” Not caring if Turner was still breathing or not, Cody leaned over the guardrail: “Nick!”

Desperately, Mimi took a deep breath and dove again, much slower this time. Cody turned on the motor once more and drove around her in a circle, looking around.

When Mimi finally surfaced again, she called for Cody, who immediately steered the boat closer: Mimi was holding up her claw.

“I've got him,” she said anxiously. “Cody, I can't tell if he's breathing.”

Very cautiously, she put Nick down on the _Ebb Tide_ , where Cody immediately knelt down next to him and felt for a pulse. His own heart was beating almost painfully in his chest, making it difficult, but then he found it: “He's alive,” he said, ready to weep with relief. Gently, he turned Nick on his side, rubbing his back: “Nick,” he said with emphasis. “Nick, can you hear me?”

After what seemed like an eternity, Nick suddenly shuddered and began to cough, expelling sea water with his eyes still closed.

Cody stroked Nick's wet hair: “That's it, Baby, easy... take your time...”

With a groan, Nick eventually made to sit up, and Cody supported him: “You alright?”

For a moment, Nick just leaned against him, unable to manage more than pained little gasps and cradling his left arm with his right hand. When he finally spoke, Nick sounded hoarse and short of breath: “'m fine. Managed to jump... but then I was dragged down... it was like a whirlpool down there... didn't know which way was up... And my arm's useless.”

Subduing a shudder, Cody put his own arm around him and pulled him closer, waiting for Nick to get his breathing under control. The next thing he knew was Mimi's face in his, startling him before he realized that she was nuzzling Nick: “Are you sure you're okay?” she asked in a gentle voice Cody had never heard before. “You look as white as that policeman after he puked on me.”

With a weary grin, Nick lifted his good hand and stroked her warm hide: “I'm okay... Sweetheart,” he said softly, still panting a little. “No need... to worry about me.”

Cody could feel that he was trembling, but he understood the need to reassure Mimi. “Let's get back to the harbor,” he said. “I'll check on Turner, okay?”

Turner, as it turned out, had a broken neck.

“Serves him right,” Mimi grumbled. “For threatening my captain.”

Inwardly, Cody agreed, but he kept silent. He cut Turner down however and put him in the back of the _Ebb Tide_ , covering him with a piece of tarp.

 

Nick was shivering by the time they reached the marina, if from coldness or pain or, possibly, shock, Cody couldn't tell. He had wrapped him into the emergency blanket he kept on the _Ebb Tide_ , but Nick was still pale, and from the way he was still taking shallow little breaths, Cody could tell that his ribs were giving him trouble. He just hoped nothing else was broken; Nick had told him how Turner had assaulted him.

Since Cody had radioed the coastguard, an ambulance and a police car were waiting at the pier. Nick didn't even protest, but before he accompanied the EMTs to their vehicle, he assured Mimi that he was going to be okay and that Cody was going to take care of her for now.

She nosed at him once more: “I'll be waiting for you,” she said.

Cody wasn't at all happy that he couldn't accompany Nick to the hospital, but he understood that Mimi needed him more; that Nick needed him to look after her and make sure she was alright. After giving his statement and referring the officers to Lieutenant Quinlan, who was after all involved in an ongoing investigation that was connected to this attempted abduction and subsequent death of the perpetrator, Cody went over to Mimi, who was hunching in on herself.

“He'll be okay,” he said while he got out the large towels Nick kept for her. “Want me to rub off the sea salt?”

“Yes, please.”

Cody smiled; Mimi had never been particularly friendly to him, it was nice for a change. He worked silently, and Mimi was holding perfectly still.

“Cody,” she said once he was done, her voice very low.

“Yes?”

“I appreciate this very much. But now you should go and see how Nick is doing.”

“Nick asked me to stay with you.”

“I'll be fine.” Mimi lowered her head and pressed her nose against Cody's chest ever so gently: “Thank you.”

Touched, Cody lifted his hand to stroke her warm hide: “It was my pleasure, Sweetheart.” He paused: “If you're sure you'll be okay on your own, I'll go.”

“I am.”

“Well, then.” He stroked her once more: “See you later, okay? And I think Murray'll be back soon as well.”

All the way to the hospital, Cody still felt the ghost of Mimi's touch, and it was the first time that he understood what Nick was seeing in her.

 

Cody had been waiting for roughly an hour when a nurse called Linda came to tell him that he was allowed in with his friend now: “I've told him that you're here, and he asked for you.”

Relieved, Cody followed her to Nick's cubicle; his eyes were closed when Linda pulled the curtain aside, but he blinked when he heard them. He was wearing a hospital gown and had been covered with a blanket; his arm was in a cast and held by sling.

“Hey, Nicky,” Cody said gently, putting his hand on Nick's shoulder since his good arm and his hand were under the blanket; he was probably still a bit cold. “How're you doing?”

“Been better,” Nick said drowsily. “Setting the arm was not very pleasant.”

Cody winced in sympathy: “I can imagine. Did you get something for the pain?”

"Yes. Not sure I can feel my ears right now."

"That good, huh?"

“Hmm... Mimi okay?”

“She's fine. She sent me here as soon as I had rubbed her down.”

“Good girl.” A small smile flitted over Nick's pale, exhausted face.

“She is,” Cody replied seriously, which had Nick beam at him: “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Cody stroked his cheek with the back of his fingers: “They gonna let you out soon?”

“I hope so.”

Right then, the nurse came back with a doctor; it was the same one who had set Nick's arm.

“I've had a look at your X-rays, Mr. Ryder,” he said. “There's a hairline fracture on one of the ribs on your back, that's why the area where your assailant kicked you is so tender, apart from the extensive bruises. I've prescribed some salve that should help with those, but as for the ribs- they've got to heal on their own. I did however write you up some painkillers for the arm, which should help with the ribs as well. Apart from that you've got to take things easy for the next two weeks at least. No heavy lifting, no sports, no flying.”

Nick looked resigned: “Thanks, Doc.”

“Can I take him home?” Cody asked.

The doctor nodded: “Linda will get you the release papers.”

“I've brought you some clothes as well,” Cody said once the doctor and the nurse had left. “Want to put them on?”

“Yes.”

Nick slowly manoevered himself into a sitting position. Despite the medication, his face turned white for a moment; with gritted teeth, he eventually managed to get up. Cody helped him with the pants, but they waited for the nurse before they removed the sling to get Nick out of the gown and into the sweater Cody had brought.

He was utterly relieved when he was finally in the car. Cody leaned in to fasten Nick's seatbelt, then he paused, taking in Nick's rather tense posture: “This okay?”

Nick regarded him, and his expression was a tad mischievous all of a sudden: “A kiss would make it better.”

Cody grinned: “At your service.”

 

When they arrived at pier 56, Mimi wasn't alone: Murray, Pitbull Johnson and Leviathan were with her.

Cody parked the Jimmy right next to them: “Hey, guys! General! Levi! Good to see you!”

“Good to see you too, son,” Pitbull said while Cody walked around the car to help Nick get out.

“Are you alright?” Cody asked.

“Yes, of course. Just a little banged up, nothing I can't handle. And I hear it's the Riptide Detective Agency I've got to thank that I'm still alive.”

He regarded Nick: “Mimi told me what happened. I'm glad you're still in one piece.”

Nick nodded but quickly aborted the motion: “Me too,” he muttered. “Levi, are you alright?”

“Oh, yes,” Leviathan was obviously happy. “I caught some nice fish. But I'm ever so glad that I've got my Doug back.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Pitbull muttered, resting one hand on the dragon's leg. “I missed you too.”

“The Coast Guard took us to the island to get him immediately when we were back,” Murray said. “Pit- I mean, General Johnson didn't want to wait any longer than necessary.”

Nick smiled, already looking past them at Mimi, whose eyes were trained on him: “Excuse me.” As fast as he could, he made his way over to her.

“Hi, Sweetheart,” he said softly.

Mimi made that low keening sound again and nosed at him anxiously: “Are you alright?” she asked.

“Just a little banged up as well,” he said. “It's not so bad.”

“I thought I'd lost you too,” she murmured. “When you were in the water and I couldn't find you.”

“I'm sorry,” he put his hand on her muzzle. “I didn't mean to scare you. But I didn't have any other ideas what to do, so I'm glad you trusted me. It was very brave of you to dive like that.”

Mimi was silent, but she very cautiously curled her claw around him and held him close, and he leaned against her gloriously warm hide and the steady beat of her heart, and felt all the stress of the day melt away.

He didn't realize it when he began to doze off, but he jerked awake painfully when his legs threatened to give out under him. Once he had his breath back, he looked up at Mimi: “I'm sorry, Sweetheart. I think I need to go lie down.”

“Okay,” she said. “Go and get some rest. You do look tired.”

He smiled and pressed a kiss on her nose: “I will.”

  
Levi and Pitbull were going to take off as well, since they were being awaited at Fort Sumpter. In the meantime, Cody, Murray and Johnson had pieced together the whole story:

Turner had indeed had connections with drug runners, who were the same people that abducted Pitbull- apparently, Turner got greedy and betrayed them, selling the goods to third parties, but blamed Pitbull, saying he got wind of the matter and took the drugs himself.

When he learned that Davidson, who was in on the operation, had involved a detective agency, Turner was going to bail; he didn't know that Davidson also wanted to make sure that Pitbull was going to be blamed but thought he was in jeopardy himself, that's why he wanted the harness in order to destroy evidence. Davidson however needed the harness too if he wanted his false accusations proven, which probably was why he hid it.

“Doesn't make a whole lot of sense, does it?” Cody said. “If Turner didn't want to be convicted, he took an awful lot of risks by abducting a dragon and its captain in broad daylight.”

“I don't think he was thinking clearly anymore,” Murray said. “He was under a lot of duress, he probably thought he'd get away with it somehow.”

“Hm.” Pitbull put his hands on his hips: “One thing is clear though- everyone was gonna blame me. I don't know if I should feel offended or honored.” He grinned. "Well, at least they didn't kill me."

Murray looked at him: “I'm so sorry it took us so long to get you out, General. If I'd thought of the transmitter earlier-”

Pitbull interrupted him by patting his shoulder: “It's okay, son. Can't say it's been a pleasant experience on the whole, but if it hadn't been for you, I'd probably still be there.”

Cody nodded: “Besides, you're not a machine, Boz. You know what Arnie's dad always said, don't you?”

“Yes,” Murray gave a small smile. “I do.”

Cody shook his head: “I'd rather like to know why Davidson went through all the trouble to pose as an FBI agent and set up an entire false office just to hire us. Makes as little sense as Turner's stunt. If anything, we still wouldn't have believed that it was you who was smuggling the drugs, and would have dug deeper.”

“That, my friend,” Pitbull said pensively, “is his secret to take to the grave. All I know is that I've underestimated him. I knew he didn't exactly have the hots for me, but I had no idea that he wanted to put me in jail.” He frowned.

Leviathan, who had been silent so far, lifted his head: "If I had known about this, I'd haven taken Davidson and Turner and thrown them into the sea!"

Pitbull grinned: "Next time, maybe."

"I certainly hope there won't be a next time," Levi said indignantly. "I'd very much like to go home and eat a nice cow."

Still grinning, Pitbull shrugged: "Can't hold it against you- I'm starving myself."

Murray sighed: “Before you go- Davidson also took another secret to his grave.”

When Cody, Levi and Pitbull looked at him questioningly, he shrugged: “I still haven't found out what the keys are for. I hope you have a spare harness for Leviathan, General.”

The Regal Copper turned his head towards his captain.

Pitbull patted his leg: “Don't worry. We do have a few spare ones for emergencies.”

Leviathan sighed: “I was afraid you'd say that.”

 

Back on the _Riptide_ , Nick slowly made his way down to the stateroom under his own steam. He had already taken off his jeans and managed to pull on some sweatpants when Cody came in with a glass of water and Nick's medication a minute later: “What are you doing?” he chided gently, because Nick was rather shaky by now.

“I'm fine,” Nick said, a little too quickly.

Cody regarded him: “You're knackered.” He pulled the blanket on Nick's bunk aside: “Come on, let's get you horizontal.”

Sighing, Nick eased himself onto the mattress: “This is very different from how this should have gone down.”

Cody raised his eyebrows: “Oh yeah?”

Nick grinned: “For one, there'd be less clothes.”

“Anything for you, my valiant dark knight.” Quick as a flash, Cody pulled off his own shirt and assumed a bodybuilder's pose.

Nick tried not to laugh: “Stop it,” he gasped, “you're making it worse.”

“Sorry.” Cody put his shirt back on. “I didn't mean to further aggravate my valiant knight's injuries.”

“ _Dashing_ ,” Nick muttered once he had gotten his breathing under control. “And thank you, I appreciate it.”

Cody handed him the glass and a pill: “Here. You should take one of these before the others wear off.”

“They're making me drowsy.”

“You're going to sleep anyway.”

“I hate to admit it, but you're right.”

“Do you want to eat something?”

“No. I only wanna sleep.”

“Okay.”

Lying down with a fractured rib and an immobilized arm was a task in itself, but with Cody's support, Nick managed. He was breathing harshly again once he actually was horizontal, and his expression was pinched; the medication he had received earlier was still taking the edge off things, but moving around too much certainly made the pain flare up.

“Dashing _and_ tough,” Cody murmured once he had sat down next to his partner after tucking him in, regarding Nick affectionately. “And a little obstinate.”

“You gotta be obstinate if you're willing to kiss a duck for your guy.”

Cody grinned: “I thought I wasn't the prince.”

“You totally were the prince.” Nick grinned complacently. Cody reached for his hand and pressed a kiss on it: “I'm really glad you're okay. Well, kinda okay.”

“Spooked you, did we?” Nick murmured, his eyes roaming over Cody's face.

“ _Spooked_ me?” Cody said. “You almost scared me to death! When Mimi went down-” He broke off, and Nick saw the echo of real fear in his expression. “I thought I'd lose you,” he said, more softly.

“Sorry,” Nick's answer was equally soft. “I just didn't know what else to do. Turner had the advantage...”

“It's okay,” Cody replied. “I get it. My point is... it made me realize how much I really care about you, Nicky.”

A smile slowly spread on Nick's weary features: “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Cody reached out and caressed his cheek. “I love you, you crazy guy.”

Nick turned his face into Cody's palm and closed his eyes for a moment: “I love you more,” he murmured when he opened them again.

“Not possible.” Cody smiled tenderly. “Now get some rest, okay?”

“Hm.” Nick smiled back, but his exhaustion soon prevailed, and he wasn't able to keep his eyes open any longer. Cody stayed with him until he had dozed off.

 

Later that night, Cody went over to Mimi once more to check on her; she was fast asleep though, which he was glad about, considering the day she'd had. Nick always said she was sensitive, but Cody had had his doubts about that until now. The despair in her voice when they feared Nick was lost, her gentle touch earlier though... he smiled, putting a hand on her warm hide and stroked her. “Seems like we've got one important thing in common, old girl,” he muttered before he turned back to his boat.

Murray was sitting in the galley when Cody came back in: “Hey,” he said quietly. “Is Mimi okay?”

“Yeah, she's sleeping.”

“Good. I imagine it must have been very traumatic for her when she thought Nick might be dead.” Murray shrugged: “You know, because she's already lost one captain.”

“I know.” Cody sat down on the opposite bench: “I've never really considered how deeply she probably feels. She can be so stubborn... even Nick sometimes is at the end of his tether with her. But I've never seen him shouting at her, or being abrasive.”

“Well, no,” Murray frowned. “I couldn't imagine Nick like that at all. From what you told me about how they met... I think it takes someone special to have a grown dragon give them their trust after going through the ordeal of losing their captain in battle.”

“You're right.” Cody smiled broadly. “Nick _is_ special.”

Murray regarded him with a pensive expression: “You two are very close, right?”

“Well, yeah...” Cody hesitated. “We're... “ He shifted a little, uncertain how to put his thoughts into words.

“You're together,” Murray stated matter-of-factly.

Surprised, Cody blinked: “Yes, we are,” he replied after a moment of comprehension. “But it's new. We were going to tell you, it just wasn't the right time with all that's going on-”

Murray smiled, holding up a hand appeasingly: “Cody, it's alright. You don't need to explain yourself to me.”

“I don't?”

“No, of course not. You're my friends, I don't mind. And it's none of my business, really. I just noticed... how close you two are. And how you're always looking out for one another. It's lovely, actually.”

At that, Cody frowned: “I didn't know... I didn't think it's that obvious.”

“Well, to me it is,” Murray hurried to say. “Since we're living in close quarters and I'm getting to spend a lot of time with you. I think you're fine, otherwise.”

Cody took a deep breath: “I'm glad it's not making you uncomfortable.”

Murray looked pained: “Isn't it a shame that one has to worry about that at all? People are so ignorant sometimes! You two are the best friends I've ever had, and I want you to know that. I'm a geek, I've always had a disadvantage because I was different. I know from experience how intolerant society can be.”

A sheepish smile spread on Cody's face: “Thanks, Boz,” he said softly. “Your acceptance means a lot to me.”

Murray shrugged, beaming: “All for one, one for all, right?”

Cody's smile deepened:“I couldn't have put it any better.”

 

 

To Be Continued

 

 


	7. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last part! Thank you for sticking with the story despite the rather long hiatus in between!

 

 

On the following morning, Nick woke up early; his arm and his back were aching considerably, the pain being diffuse but probably originating from his rib, and his neck felt unpleasantly stiff. When he moved his head to see if Cody was awake, more pain made itself known where Turner had hit him, and he bit back a groan. With small, aborted movements he turned onto his side and pushed himself into a sitting position with his good arm; Cody was still sleeping soundly, and Nick didn't want to wake him.

Slowly and inwardly cursing like a sailor once he had managed to get into his deck shoes, he got to his feet, took the empty glass and the packet of pills from the nightstand and went to the head. He felt as though he'd been hit by a truck. In the small bathroom, he relieved himself, then he took one of the pills. It was a little slow-going, and afterwards, he felt too shaky to move for a minute or so. Once the tremors had subsided though, Nick gritted his teeth and left the head. As slowly as before, he climbed up the stairs to the salon, which was a whole new challenge; at the top, he had to pause and concentrate on breathing evenly. He was determined not to let his body defeat him, therefore he ploughed on. It was rather chilly outside since the sun hadn't come up yet; he didn't think he had it in him to turn back and get a coat, however.

 

Two minutes later, he reached Mimi's pad. His dragon was still asleep as well, curled in on herself. Nick just looked at her for a while, then he moved to lean against her deliciously warm hide, closing his eyes just as he had done on the previous day. After a moment though, Mimi moved: “Nick?” she asked softly.

“Mhm.”

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah. Just needed to see you.”

“Oh. Should you be up though?”

“I'm fine, Sweetheart.”

“But... are you still in pain?”

“A little. I can handle it.”

“I'm asking because you're shivering.”

“The air's cold.”

“Oh, right. You humans are more susceptible to changes in temperature. Do you want me to warm you?”

Surprised, Nick smiled:“That'd be great.”

“Okay.” Slowly, Mimi unfolded herself and arranged her body so that Nick could sit down in the crook of her foreleg and lean against her chest.

“Are you comfortable?” she asked.

“It's perfect,” Nick murmured with a sigh and closed his eyes.

 

When Cody, who woke up two hours later and found Nick's bunk empty, came running to see if Nick was with Mimi and everything was alright, he found them both fast asleep.

Relieved, he shook his head: “Stubborn lot,” he muttered as he walked back to the boat, smiling a little.

 

It was Cody who took Mimi to the feeding grounds that morning, since Nick wasn't allowed to fly and didn't feel up to it either, if he was honest with himself. He wasn't going to admit that, of course, but he didn't have to- it was obvious to anyone who knew him well enough.

“You're to take things slow,” Cody therefore reminded him while they were shaving. “I'll be watching you like a hawk, and so will Murray.”

Nick paused and rolled his eyes: “Great. And if that wasn't enough, even Mimi's apparently developing mother-henning tendencies nowadays.”

Cody expertly hid his grin.

  
They were still sitting at the table after breakfast when a familiar voice shouted: “You dummies up yet?”

Cody exchanged a long-suffering glance with the others before he answered: “Come aboard, Lieutenant!”

Quinlan strutted into the salon with his usual air of importance and superiority: “Looking good, Ryder,” he said, eyeing Nick. “I heard about your little stunt yesterday. Didn't think your flying menace had it in her.”

Cody half expected to have to physically restrain Nick at that, but the latter only calmly put down his mug: “Seems to me it was rather good timing too, since she needed a wash anyway...”

At that, Cody laughed and Murray giggled high-pitchedly, while Quinlan turned red: “You think you're funny?”

“Me?” Nick looked utterly innocent. “I was just making conversation. You know, it's called being polite.”

Quinlan scowled at him, then addressed all of them: “Well, I came to tell you that the suspects will be charged with a number of counts. The same would have been true for Turner, if he hadn't... expired prematurely.” He smirked. “What's more, the Aerial Command at Ford Sumpter has graciously agreed to drop all charges against you three clowns. Which you should be glad about, because it's a serious offense to abduct a dragon.” He stared dreamily into the middle-distance: “You'd be in so much trouble...”

“We didn't so much abduct him as save him,” Cody said, unperturbed.

“You still broke the law. And something tells me that it's also you who anonymously phoned in the murder of Colonel Davidson.”

“It's also us who found Brigadier General Johnson and who led you to arrest a gang of drug smugglers,” Cody countered. “When will you accept that we're the good guys, Lieutenant?”

Quinlan snorted: “On the day hell freezes over. I'll still need your statements, though. I'll let you know when you are to come in for those. Good day, gentlemen!” With that, he stormed out.

“That man is a walking contradiction,” Murray said, shaking his head.

Cody shrugged: “It'll forever torment him that he can't just arrest us and be done with it.”

“He'd soon get bored without us anyway,” Nick said as he got to his feet and began to clear the table.

“What are you doing?” Cody asked.

“I'm about to take these plates down to the galley.”

“No, you're not.”

Nick groaned: “Seriously? It's only a couple of plates, I really don't think it counts as heavy lifting!”

“Cody's right though,” Murray chimed in. “You're supposed to rest and not do anything.”

“What- so you expect me to sit around all day with my feet up?”

“Yep,” Cody said, while Murray nodded.

Nick groaned: “Guys, come on...”

Cody got to his feet as well, pried the plate Nick was holding out of his hand and gave him a kiss on the cheek instead: “It's just another unpaid holiday, dear,” he said, grinning, then quickly ducked into the galley.

Nick was about to argue further when the phone rang.

Murray picked it up: “Riptide Detective Agency, how may I help you?... Oh, good morning, General.... Yes, he is. Hang on... Nick, it's for you.”

Nick took the receiver from him: “Good morning, General.”

“Good morning, son!” Pitbull's voice was cheerful. “How are you doing today?”

“I'm just peachy, sir,” Nick replied with a glance at Murray, who shook his head.

“You certainly sound peachy.” The general seemed amused. “What I've got to tell you might cheer you up, however. I've talked to Aerial Command first thing this morning, and they're not only dropping all charges but I've also recommended you three for a Medal of Honor.”

Nick was momentary speechless: “Sir...”

“If it hadn't been for you, I'd probably still be in that compound. More importantly, you also saved Leviathan's life. They've found evidence in the meantime that Davidson intended to kill him, making it look like a terrorist attack to take the focus off himself. Considering Levi's value, the command is accordingly obliged. As am I.”

“Thank you,” Nick managed.

Pitbull laughed: “Oh, and one more thing: Levi very much would like to go fishing with Mimi some time.”

“I think that can be arranged.”

 

Nick's hand was shaking when he hung up.

“What did he say?” Cody and Murray asked at once.

Nick told them: “I really don't feel like we deserve it,” he said once he'd ended. “I mean... we didn't do that much, did we?”

Cody pointedly looked at Nick's arm: “I'd say we did enough,” he said. “I think it's great.”

Murray shook his head once more: “It is. I better get on with those keys though. Otherwise I don't think I can accept that medal.”

“I'll help you,” Nick said, raising his hand to forestall Cody's objections: “With my _brain_ , okay? I hope I am allowed to use that.”

Cody sighed: “Fine. But Murray- if there's any smoke, feel free to let the Roboz pour some water over him.”

“Oh, he doesn't do that any-” Murray began but broke off when he saw Cody's grin. “Yeah, alright,” he said, winking. “I'll better start up my program then. Maybe if I alter the parameters..” Already lost in his thoughts, he disappeared down the stairs.

Nick glared at Cody: “Less like a prince,” he muttered before he followed Murray to his room. “And more like an ogre.”

Still grinning, Cody continued to clear the table.

 

That night, Nick went to bed early. Despite the medication and taking things slow, he felt battered and weary, and he was grateful for Cody's help.

“We're developing quite a routine,” the latter said once Nick was lying down.

“Yeah,” Nick muttered. “I'll be glad once this is over though.”

Cody smiled sympathetically: “I hear you.”

“Think you can fit in with me?”

“As long as we don't move too much,” Cody said. “Maybe. Not for the whole night though, I don't want to accidentally hurt you.”

“I'm not made of porcelain,” Nick grumbled.

“Okay. Scoot over.”

“Funny.”

Very cautiously and with measured movements, Cody eventually succeeded to snuggle up with his partner. Nick was tense at first but soon relaxed against him, and Cody pushed his nose against Nick's skin, sighing contentedly. “I'll stay with you until you're asleep,” he said softly.

“Hm,” Nick was already drowsy. “Having a déjà-vu.”

“It happens.” Cody gently kissed him: “Sleep well, my valiant dark knight.”

“Dashing.”

“My dashing dark knight.”

“You too, ogre.”

“Still? Don't I get awarded some kind of hero points for helping you undress and tucking you in?”

“Nah. Takes more than that.”

“Oh dear.”

“No need to worry though.”

“No?”

“You got time.”

“Phew. That's a relief.” Cody smiled against Nick's skin.

“Murray tell you the good news, by the way?”

“Which good news? That he found the storage compartment where Davidson hid the harness? You were standing next to him when he told me.”

“The other good news. He's been working on our taxes. Thinks we'll get a return.”

“Wow, really?”

“Yeah.”

“That is good news. _Great_ news. Aren't you glad we took Murray in?”

“Yeah. Not only for the money, though.”

“No, of course not. He's a great guy.”

“Hm. Even Mimi's got a thing for him.”

“If I've learned one thing recently,” Cody said ruminatively, “it's that Mimi isn't half as indifferent to the people around her as she likes to pretend. She was downright affectionate towards me yesterday. It was... lovely.”

At that, Nick opened his eyes again. He blinked, then he turned his head toward Cody until he could kiss him: “You just got yourself some of those hero points,” he said softly.

“Oh, so I got promoted to being... say... someone with a title?”

“Don't get cocky. If at all, you're a sheepherder.”

“Huh. Maybe I'll find a rock with a sword in it though.”

“If you're lucky.” With another kiss, Nick closed his eyes again.

Cody nuzzled his cheek, unable to stop himself from smiling once more, and his voice was tender as he spoke: “You know what? I think I am.”

 

 

The End

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I'm not a Native Speaker, therefore I apologize for any mistakes.


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